Asheville Schools

For families with school-aged children, proximity to strong schools is often a major factor in determining the neighborhood in which to live. Fortunately, in Asheville, we have a wide and diverse selection of fantastic public, private and charter schools. This guide, organized by age of children, provides an overview of the area’s educational institutions.

Public Elementary Schools in the Asheville Buncombe Area

The Asheville/ Buncombe area is unique in that it operates separate city and county school districts.

Asheville City Schools system serves the most centrally-located neighborhoods. Their elementary school model is based on a magnet system where families can select their top 3 choices from the 5 differently-themed magnet schools. If there is more demand than availability, a lottery is used for placement. The city school system has a strong partnership with the Asheville City Schools Foundation.

Buncombe County School system operates neighborhood-based elementary schools where children attend the school based upon the district in which they live. Students in South Asheville feed into the TC Roberson School district. East Asheville and Fairview students attend A.C. Reynolds district elementary schools. Swannanoa and Black Mountain students attend Owen district schools. West Asheville students attend Enka or Erwin districts. North Asheville and Weaverville students attend North Buncombe School District.

We recommend that you check the public school district indicated under the Location section of property listings.

Public Middle Schools in the Asheville Buncombe Area

Asheville Middle School has been the long-standing public middle school for students within the Asheville City Schools district. New in the 2017-2018 school year is a STEAM-focused alternative middle school option called the Montford North Star Academy. Both of these middle schools have excellent community partnerships in place.

Each of the separate Buncombe County school districts has one middle school, and some have intermediate schools that also serve their district's middle school age children.

Public High Schools in the Asheville Buncombe Area

Asheville High School is the sole high school within the Asheville City Schools district. It is located on a gorgeous historic campus near Mission Hospital. SILSA operates as a school within a school and has a focus on inquiry and life sciences. These schools have a long tradition of academic excellence and partner with Asheville Buncombe Technical Community College on college credit coursework.

Each of the separate Buncombe County school districts has one high school to serve young adults in that district. Additionally, there is the Martin L. Nesbitt, Jr. Discovery Academy - a STEM school with a focus on college and career readiness.

Charter Schools in the Asheville Buncombe Area

There are a handful of long-standing charter schools in Buncombe County. Evergreen Community Charter School is in East Asheville and utilizes an Outward Bound expeditionary learning model to teach Kindergarten through eighth grade students. A newer charter school in West Buncombe, Franklin School of Innovation, offers the same model to fifth through twelfth grade students.

Private Schools in the Asheville Buncombe Area

Rainbow Community School is a private, independent alternative education program for preschool through middle aged children. Located in West Asheville, if focuses on whole child education through seven domains.

Carolina Day School is a private school that serves children in grades Kindergarten through 12th grade. It is located in south Asheville near Biltmore Forest and is focused on college preparation.

Asheville School is a nationally renowned day and boarding school serving college-bound high school students with a rigorous curriculum. It is located on a gorgeous historic campus in West Asheville.

Warren Wilson College is a private four year liberal arts college located in the beautiful Swannanoa River Valley. It is known for its strong service learning components, creative writing and environmental studies programs.

Montreat College, in the stunning Montreat community just outside of Black Mountain, is a private Christian liberal arts college. Mars Hill University, 15 miles north of Asheville in Marshall also offers a liberal arts course of study in a private setting.

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There are 24 Asheville private schools. Many offer smaller classroom sizes with more attention and focus given to each student. There are 10 private schools for highschool age students, 21 for elementary age students, and 15 that accommodate pre-school age children. View a list below for the private schools located in Asheville.